The history of cakes began more than two thousand years ago, and today no triumph can take place without this delicacy. Wedding cakes, cakes for anniversaries, but, most importantly - for children's parties. No child can imagine his birthday without a cake, blowing out the candles, which are necessarily located in this treat. Historians still argue about the appearance of the first cakes. We suggest today to familiarize yourself with the assumptions of scientists, with the types of jewelry, and with the history of the most popular desserts.
The history of the origin of cakes
Today, no one can definitely name the country in which this delicacy first appeared. Each part of the world is famous for its culinary masterpieces, and always people with special awe treated sweets. There is an assumption that the first cakes appeared thanks to the gourmets of the East, and these were all well-known oriental sweets that are made from honey, milk and sesame. Many centuries ago, their shape resembled exactly those cakes and pastries that are now known. Their taste and aroma were able to drive even the most capricious gourmet crazy.
Others argue with this opinion, and present the history of the origin of cakes from their point of view. They say that the word itself has Italian roots, and in translation means something elegant, ornate, beautiful. Linguists associate this meaning of the word with cake decorations in the form of numerous flowers, ornaments and inscriptions.
But, one cannot disagree with the opinion that France is a trendsetter for desserts. It is on the territory of this country that there is a huge number of coffee houses where you can taste a delicious dessert. Perhaps the chefs and confectioners of France once prepared the first cake. It is from France that many recipes came to most countries, which are still popular today. In Russia there are many dishes that are considered native Russian, but they were once cooked by cooks from France, working in wealthy Russian families.
Russian desserts
If you look at the cuisine of Russia, which was several centuries ago, you can be surprised to note that we did not have the variety of dishes that exists now. We drew the experience of foreign chefs, modernized, and compiled our recipes based on our knowledge. The same applies to sweet desserts. The history of cakes in Russia began with the preparation of loaves for weddings. These were not full-fledged cakes, but nevertheless they were baked on occasion, and were the most delicious and elegant of all types of pies. Loaf for the bride always had a round shape, which symbolized the sun, which means fertility, prosperity and health. The cake was decorated with curlicues, patterns, figures of the "bride and groom" were placed in the center.
Record holders
Telling the history of cakes, I don’t want to miss the moments when the pastry masterpieces fell on the pages of the Guinness Book of Records.
The heaviest cake was baked by cooks in America in Alabama. The giant weighed more than fifty tons, had many layers, one of the main ingredients was ice cream. The form of the culinary miracle was unusual - the state was depicted as it is on the map.
In the USA, they also prepared a champion for growth. This cake was made by cooks from the state of Michigan. The cake rose thirty meters above the table, consisted of a hundred layers.
In Peru, it was possible to create a dessert, which was 246 meters in length. And this masterpiece has become the longest cake in history. After he was put on public display, he was cut into small pieces and treated to the children of Peru, who this month celebrated their birthday.
Russia also managed to show off its talent, and the cooks were able to prepare the largest cake for the birthday of GUM - the most famous department store in Moscow. The giant was three meters high, and weighed three tons.
Layered Cakes
But could it be possible to make desserts of this size, if not for many layers? The history of multi-tiered cakes began in London, from where the recipe went to America, and from the USA to Russia. Historians say that many layers allowed creating huge desserts for celebrations, where a huge number of people gathered. They were brought into the hall in special carts, which further emphasized the moment of solemnity. Soon, these culinary delights began to enjoy great popularity. Treats, consisting of several layers, are made for various celebrations, and decorate them in different ways. What types of cake decorating have become the most popular?
Cream
From the cream you can create real masterpieces. By the way, cream cakes were first made in France, because the confectioners of this country were able to create meringues, protein cream, creme brulee, caramel and other delicious fillings. For the first time, they began to use cream to decorate all kinds of cakes. Today, France dictates the fashion for the design of cakes, and their larger brothers.
Chocolate petals
Cream cakes can be decorated simply with grated chocolate, or you can create unique details. For example, more and more housewives, baking cakes on their own, decorate them with chocolate petals. To prepare them, you do not need to be a master. You just need to melt the bar of chocolate in a water bath, dip in it real rose petals or other leaves you like. After hardening, the chocolate will well move away from the sheet, will perfectly repeat the shape and have all the streaks.
Glaze
This is exactly the ingredient that in most cases cakes were decorated before the appearance of creams. You can leave it white, and the dessert will turn out to be very tender, ideal for a wedding. But if you decide to make a cake for a child, then it is worth making it festive, colorful. You can use food colors, or you can make them yourself. Orange juice will color the icing yellow, beets - pink. At the same time, the taste of the glaze will change, it will become even tastier and healthier. And to make it easier to work with glaze, and it lay more evenly on the cakes, it is necessary to add softened butter to it.
Some tricks
If you want the cake to retain its beauty after slicing, all kinds of roses and petals do not break, the picture does not crack, you can cut the cake first and then decorate it. Before taking the treats to the hall, make pieces together and you will get a complete dish.
If you do not have a special culinary syringe, and you want to create cream roses or chocolate ruffles, take a regular plastic bag, put cream or melted chocolate in it. Before you start decorating, cut a corner, and work.
Now it remains to choose a recipe. We offer you to consider the history of cakes that conquered the whole world with their taste. Perhaps you will choose one of them.
The history of the sponge cake
Surely today there is not a single person left who at least once would not try a biscuit. From it create cakes, pastries, rolls, cookies. The biscuit is ideally combined with all known creams and is a favorite treat of children. A cup of tea with a biscuit cake served at five in the evening is a symbol of English tea drinking. It was from England that the biscuit came to France, and from France spread throughout the world. But how did it all begin?
The word "biscuit" is French, and means "double baked." But it appeared in England, and this should not bother anyone, because in the Middle Ages the English spoke French better than their native language, and this was due to fashion. So, back to the biscuit. It appeared a very, very long time ago, no one can definitely tell the date of its origin, because this delicacy was originally the main food on long-distance sailing ships, and only sailors ate the biscuit. Why biscuit? Yes, because butter is not added to the dough for it, but it is a protection against the appearance of mold on the product, which was almost the main culprit in spoiling the food of sailors. Going on a long journey by sea or around the world, which often happened in the Middle Ages, and was associated with the study of the world, all team members knew what to eat for a long time. This happened until the court Queen Elizabeth decided to try the food of the sailors. He was struck by the taste of biscuit, and from that time on, delicacies began to fall on the tables of the nobility. Soon, the biscuit ceased to be the food of ordinary people, and the recipe for its preparation quickly dispersed around the world.
In the seventeenth century, the recipe came to France, and from there to other countries. From biscuit began to create cakes and pastries immediately after the expansion of the colonies of England.
Franz Sacher and the Austrian King
It was these people who became the founders of the history of Sacher chocolate cake, which is now almost familiar to everyone. The recipe for its preparation is so simple, and the delicacy is so impressive in its taste that this dessert is as popular as new types of cakes.
Sacher was first served at the table of the King of Austria. And this thing happened like this: the prince was supposed to receive guests, and told his cooks that this evening should be served a unique dish that no one had ever tried. The cooks were frightened, because the chief baker of the palace was very sick that day, and could not help. Only young Franz Sacher decided to try his luck, and was not afraid of the possible anger of the king. He baked cakes, adding chocolate to them, and prepared icing - also on a chocolate basis. The cake turned out to be completely chocolate, fragrant, and orange jam became a special highlight of the masterpiece.
Did the cake become famous thanks to the cook, or did the cook become famous thanks to his chocolate creation? It doesn’t matter, since then “Sacher” has become a favorite treat not only of the Austrian king, but also of many people around the world. Today, even the most sophisticated sweet tooth will give preference to "Sacher", choosing among many sweet desserts.
Napoleon
There are several assumptions about the occurrence of this delicacy. The first story of the Napoleon cake claims that it was cooked in Naples, which is why it bears such a name. But we tend to trust the second version, thanks to which the cake is considered a symbol of the victory of Russian troops over the mighty Napoleon.
The history of the Napoleon cake is as follows: the celebration of the centennial of the defeat of the Napoleonic army near Moscow was approaching. The best chefs were invited to make the menu. The most famous confectioners serving in the homes of noble people worked on the cake recipe. As a result, they baked "Napoleon", consisting of many cakes soaked in delicate cream. They gave it a triangular shape, so that associations with the famous Napoleonic cocked hat appeared. However, after the revolution, the masterpiece turned into an easy-to-cook appetizer, served in cheap taverns. His appearance became careless, and many housewives, baking a cake, tried to cut it into pieces away from the eyes of the guests.
Now, “Napoleon” is considered an ordinary cake, which is easy to prepare for home tea drinking. Each family has its own recipe for how to cook a delicious, delicate Napoleon.
Here is such a difficult story of cakes. It seems to us today that it’s easy to bake them, but once upon a time the best minds worked on the recipes!